Williams v. State

• Decision Date: 28 February 1991
• Docket Number: No. 12-90-00143-CR,12-90-00143-CR
• Citation: 840 S.W.2d 449
• Parties: Kaufman WILLIAMS, Jr., Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

Page 449

840 S.W.2d 449

Kaufman WILLIAMS, Jr., Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.

No. 12-90-00143-CR.

Court of Appeals of Texas,

Tyler.

Feb. 28, 1991.

Rehearing Denied April 24, 1992.

Discretionary Review Refused Sept. 30, 1992.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 4, 1992.

John H. Seale, Jasper, for appellant.

Charles Mitchell, San Augustine, for appellee.

COLLEY, Justice.

Appellant Kaufman Williams, Jr., was convicted by a jury of the murder ¹ of his wife, Elaine Williams. The jury assessed his punishment at confinement for fifty years and a $10,000 fine. We will affirm his conviction and punishment.

The record reveals that, during the early morning hours of May 15, 1989, fire virtually consumed a building owned by appellant in Yellow Pine, Texas. The building consisted of a grocery store, two storage rooms and living quarters. Appellant, his wife, Elaine Williams ("the victim"), and Williams' teenage step-daughter, Michelle Reynolds ("Michelle"), who also died in the fire, resided in those quarters. It is undisputed that the fire started near the front (west side) of the building shortly after 5:00 a.m. on Monday, May 15, 1989, and that appellant, Elaine and Michelle had gone to bed in the living quarters at approximately 10:00 p.m. the night before. According to appellant's testimony, he was awakened by "popping" and "cracking" noises coming from the store. Appellant stated that after arming himself, he went into the store area to investigate the noises. He testified that he saw a fire near the front door of the store and then went back into the living quarters and shouted to his wife and step-daughter, calling them by name and saying, "the store [is] on fire. Get up, the [store] is on fire." According to his testimony, appellant, thinking that the fire was electrically ignited, went through a back door located on the east side of the building, headed toward the south end of the building and opened the electrical switches housed in what he called "a disconnect box." Appellant further testified that, while he was at the south end of the building, he encountered Joe Wayne Jacks, "a [newspaper] carrier" who had stopped to stock the store's vending machines. Appellant testified that, after a brief conversation with Jacks, he went back around to the rear of the building near the back door, expecting to find the victim and Michelle outside the building. He stated that when he saw that they were not there, he "tried to go back in the store and ... got to the second door ² and ... couldn't go any further. The smoke almost choked me and I stumbled back out the back door." Appellant then testified that he went around to a barred ³ window in the kitchen area of the living quarters and attempted to remove the bars, after first breaking the glass out of the window. His attempt was unsuccessful, and after fire fighters at the scene extinguished the fire, the partially clothed bodies of the victim and Michelle were found in the living quarters near the door located on the south side of those quarters. It is undisputed that the cause of death of the victims was carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from smoke inhalation.

Appellant alleges ten points of error. Under his first three points of error, he claims the evidence is insufficient to support the guilty verdict. By his fourth and fifth points of error, he complains of the State's arguments at both the guilt-innocence and punishment phases of the trial. Under points of error six through ten, he asserts that the trial court erred in overruling his motion for new trial because: (6) the court admitted, over his proper hearsay objection, the testimony of State witness, Eleanor Stewart, stating "what action she took following a conversation with [the victim]...."; (7) the court erred in overruling his objection to certain questions propounded to appellant by the prosecutor on cross-examination; (8) the court erred in overruling his pre-trial motions to take the deposition of State's expert witness, Donald Turk; (9) the prosecutor and Deputy Sheriff Sparks "[instructed] the State's [witnesses] not to discuss the case with [defense counsel] or his representatives"; (10) the prosecutor and Deputy Sparks "[instructed] the jurors after the trial not to discuss their actions and statements [in or out of] the jury room with [defense counsel] or his representative."

The first state witness was Ronnie Stewart. Stewart testified that, as he drove by the grocery store at about 4:30 a.m. on May 15, 1989, he did not notice "any unusual activity [there]." On cross-examination, Stewart said "there was no indication of fire in the [store]...."

The next witness, Sandra Brown, testified that she drove by the store about 5:00 a.m. and that "the store was on fire when I went through there." She stated that "the flames were about 3 feet high." Brown also stated that she then noticed that "the top [of the store] on the right side was just starting to burn."

Joe Wayne Jacks, a newspaper carrier, testified that he drove up to the store around 5:10 to 5:15 a.m. on the morning of the fire. He stated that he saw a fire just inside the front door of the building at that time. Jacks described what he saw as "flames and sparks" inside which were "shoulder high." He recalled that he then went across the street to the Ener house, told the residents about the fire and asked them to call for help, and then returned to the store building. Jacks stated that during this time, the fire was "getting bigger and bigger." He related that, in the three to five minutes that elapsed since his arrival at the store, the fire was "coming out the eaves, best I can remember." As soon as Jacks returned to the store, he ran to a corner of the building shouting, and saw appellant coming around the south end of the building. Jacks testified he told appellant, who was holding a "gun of some kind," that the building was on fire. He stated that appellant then said to him, "I thought it was a break-in or I thought I was being broke in." Jacks said that appellant then ran back in the same direction he came from. Jacks stated that he told appellant at that time, "Hurry, we've got to get them out of there." About three minutes later, he heard appellant shout, "Wayne, Wayne, come help me." Jacks and appellant then went to the back of the building where appellant told him, "Wayne, we've got to get this window out." Jacks related that at that time, appellant was "pulling on the burglar bars...." When the prosecutor asked Jacks whether the back side of the store was on fire, Jacks replied that he, "looked down the store, down the building, [and] couldn't see the fire ... it was dark...." The witness stated that he could tell that the flames "[were] big in there somewhere. Black smoke horribly coming out everywhere." Jacks also testified that appellant told him that he "shook" his wife and step-daughter. Jacks testified that when he first saw appellant, appellant was barefoot and dressed in pajamas. He testified further that, while the fire was raging on the south side of the building, he saw no flames on the north side (where the living quarters were located) until later.

The next State witness, W.F. (Bill) Ener, who lived across State Highway 87 to the west of the building, testified that after Jacks woke him, he dressed and then walked over to the store about ten minutes after Jacks departed. Ener stated that when he arrived, the fire had spread quickly on the south side, "[o]f course, north end of it was just smoke rolling out every crack in it...."

On cross-examination, Ener testified that when he first saw the fire it was small, and located between "the front door [and] counter...." He stated that, at that time, "the whole south end of the store was in flames...." He also affirmed on cross-examination that when the fire was extinguished, "the south side [of the store] was completely destroyed and completely burned to the ground ... and the north side, there was still [a] lot of it standing." Ener also affirmed that the living quarters were located on the north side of the building. He further testified on cross-examination that the main "outside electrical cut-off switch" was on the back or south side of the building. This witness also testified that the appellant stocked "Coleman lantern fuel" and stored it "down on the south end ..." towards the front of the store. When questioned by defense counsel about appellant's relationship with his wife and step-daughter, Ener described those relationships as "good." On re-direct examination, Ener further testified that he had never heard appellant or his wife "speak a word against each other," and that appellant "cared about his wife and that daughter both...."

The next witness to appear for the State was Billy Don Sparks, a deputy sheriff. Sparks testified that he was acquainted with appellant, his wife, and his step-daughter, Michelle. Sparks said that he arrived at the scene of the fire at about 5:35 a.m. and that "there was quite a bit of fire there in the south end but it hadn't broke out of the building at that time."

The next witness for the State was Donald Turk, an investigator for the State Fire Marshall's office. Turk testified that he arrived at the fire scene between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m. on the morning of the fire. He related that he questioned appellant about the fire at that time. Turk said that appellant told him that "he heard a noise in the store and ... got up and went inside the store [from the living quarters]...." Turk also stated that appellant told him that "[appellant] looked into the store [and] saw a fire on or near the floor on the potato chip rack." According to Turk, appellant said "he went back into the living quarters and that he thought he woke up Mrs. Williams and--Michelle." Turk also recounted that appellant told him that he "exited ... the living quarters, went through the door behind the counter ... and around to the electrical boxes ......